“And then when you get your paycheque, half your paycheque is already gone to pay the lender. So then you have to borrow again.”

At one point, she said, she owed money to four different payday loan outlets – all the money taken out to pay existing loans, plus their rapidly accumulating interest, and get her through to the next paycheque, which was quickly swallowed up in more loan payments.

When Mignon decided to dig herself out of payday loan debt once and for all, she did so “painfully.”

“The last time I took [out a payday loan] I said, ‘Whatever my paycheque comes back as after I pay them back, I’m going to live on,” she said. “Painfully.

Neither Money Mart nor the Cash Store would speak with Global News for this article.

But Stan Keyes, a former Minister and Liberal MP for Hamilton, Ont., and head of Canada’s Payday Loan Association, argues these businesses – licensed and regulated by provinces, he notes – are filling a need no one else is meeting.

“What alternative do borrowers have?” he asked.

Squash or regulate the industry out of existence, he warns, and you leave people who need small cash infusions quickly without other options.

“If licensed payday lenders were forced to close their doors, say due to overregulation, the demand for the small sum short term loan does not dry up,” he said. “So I suppose those who claim to speak for payday loan borrowers, some of them often misinformed, don’t mind forcing those who need the small sum financing to, what? Take their television off the wall and take it to a pawn shop?”

Keyes said the fees and interest rates (about $21 for $100 at Money Mart, for example), often criticized as high, are necessary because of the risk taken on by lenders who don’t do credit checks. He also thinks citing annual interest rates of several hundred per cent is misleading because these are short-term loans.

There are about 1,500 payday lender outlets across the country. They skyrocketed in growth in the early 2000s, then levelled off. A 2005 Financial Consumer Agency of Canada survey found about 7 per cent of Canadians say they’d used the services.

A Global News analysis has found payday lenders overwhelmingly concentrated in low-income neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods with a high proportion of people receiving social assistance.

(Keyes, for his part, argues they’re simply located where the commerce is.)

Global News used tax data obtained from Statistics Canada and business location information from Red Lion Data to map payday loan locations against income and social assistance.

Interactive: Explore the map below to see how payday lending locations correlate with social assistance levels in your neighbourhood. Click a circle or coloured shape for more information; click and drag to move around.

But the heaviest users – the ones who get trapped in a cycle of high-interest debt – are the poorest borrowers.

“It’s those people closer to the edge who aren’t able to pay that payday loan off.”

So maybe they take out another payday loan to fill the gap. And then they’re stuck.

The problem, Buckland argues, is that payday lenders fill a need that traditional banks aren’t.

“Mainstream banks have, over the course of 30 years, shut down more branches in lower-income neighbourhoods,” he said.

“A big thing right now that I see the feds pushing is this financial literacy. And while on the one hand I think financial literacy is important, it certainly doesn’t solve the problem of financial exclusion.”

Maura Drew-Lytle, spokesperson for the Canadian Bankers Association, says banks have done a lot to make themselves more accessible, including offering low-cost accounts for about $4 a month. And as of January, 2015, she said, they’re offering basic, no-cost accounts for low-income seniors, people on disability assistance, students and youth.

She also notes the number of bank branches in Canada “has actually been increasing.”

“Banks have been very focused on customer srvice over the last decade or so. You’ve seen big changes in branches. … It’s not just a line of tellers any more.”

She and her colleagues will often accompany people when helping them open an account, she said, to help demystify the process and ensure they get what they need.

“Because we know once you walk in, you’re being sold a whole bunch of things,” she said.

“You just want a bank account: You don’t need an overdraft, you don’t need a line of credit, you don’t need a credit card. And every time, it’s the same pitch. And we say, ‘Okay, no we just need a bank account.’”

Many of the people Griffith works with are using credit cards to supplement their income, she said – not for luxuries, but just to get by. They pay the minimum payment as long as they can until the accruing interest becomes financially ruinous.

Vancouver’s VanCity credit union took matters into its own hands a couple of years ago, says Linda Morris, the bank’s Senior Vice President of Business Development, Member and Community Engagement.

“We’d been seeing studies coming out of the States, but also Canada, about people who’d be underserved, or not served at all, by conventional banking,” she said.

So they did their own research – and found even some of the credit union’s own members reported using payday lenders of cheque-cashing facilities.

“That concerned us greatly, because we know the cycle of debt people can get into. … We have people come in who have three different payday lenders they owe money to.”

At the same time,” she added, “when you take a loan with a payday loan, you’re really not developing a credit history. And that’s really important also.”

Last April, VanCity launched its Fair and Fast loan program – essentially, small-scale loans, available within an hour. In July, they added a cheque-cashing component.

“We’re seeing very little delinquency. So far, people are paying back their loans. It seems to be working.

“The larger question, of course, is will we break the cycle.”

San Francisco is asking itself the same question.

In 2005, the city enacted a moratorium on new cheque-cashers and payday lenders.

In many cases, Phillips said, these were “second chance” banking products – for people with poor credit histories or who’d had bad experiences with banks in the past. They also addressed barriers ranging from identification requirements to often-incapacitating overdraft fees.

But while they surpassed their initial goal of getting accounts for 10,000 people in their first year, the program has been tougher to track since then. Phillips said it “looked like” about 80 per cent of those new clients kept their accounts open, which is good.

Just as importantly, she adds, “it’s made financial management a more concrete part of the anti-poverty conversation.”

‘That endless cycle … will drive you insane’

Jillanne Mignon got out of her payday loan debt – ‘painfully.’

Anna Mehler Paperny/Global News

Among the many things on Mignon’s to-do list once she graduates from her community economic development program at Toronto’s Centennial College is work with micro-loans.

“I like the model of microloans because it opens the lending market ot people who are normally shut out,” she said. “People who normally go to these, I call them loan sharks, these payday loan places these pawn shops, to get these monies and then they get caught in these ridiculous circles of high interest rates. …

“I know that endless cycle. It will drive you insane.”

Tell us your story: Have you been trapped in a payday loan cycle?

Note: We may use what you send us in this or future stories. We definitely won’t publish your contact info.

“And then when you get your paycheque, half your paycheque is already gone to pay the lender. So then you have to borrow again.”

At one point, she said, she owed money to four different payday loan outlets – all the money taken out to pay existing loans, plus their rapidly accumulating interest, and get her through to the next paycheque, which was quickly swallowed up in more loan payments.

When Mignon decided to dig herself out of payday loan debt once and for all, she did so “painfully.”

“The last time I took [out a payday loan] I said, ‘Whatever my paycheque comes back as after I pay them back, I’m going to live on,” she said. “Painfully.

Neither Money Mart nor the Cash Store would speak with Global News for this article.

But Stan Keyes, a former Minister and Liberal MP for Hamilton, Ont., and head of Canada’s Payday Loan Association, argues these businesses – licensed and regulated by provinces, he notes – are filling a need no one else is meeting.

“What alternative do borrowers have?” he asked.

Squash or regulate the industry out of existence, he warns, and you leave people who need small cash infusions quickly without other options.

“If licensed payday lenders were forced to close their doors, say due to overregulation, the demand for the small sum short term loan does not dry up,” he said. “So I suppose those who claim to speak for payday loan borrowers, some of them often misinformed, don’t mind forcing those who need the small sum financing to, what? Take their television off the wall and take it to a pawn shop?”

Keyes said the fees and interest rates (about $21 for $100 at Money Mart, for example), often criticized as high, are necessary because of the risk taken on by lenders who don’t do credit checks. He also thinks citing annual interest rates of several hundred per cent is misleading because these are short-term loans.

There are about 1,500 payday lender outlets across the country. They skyrocketed in growth in the early 2000s, then levelled off. A 2005 Financial Consumer Agency of Canada survey found about 7 per cent of Canadians say they’d used the services.

A Global News analysis has found payday lenders overwhelmingly concentrated in low-income neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods with a high proportion of people receiving social assistance.

(Keyes, for his part, argues they’re simply located where the commerce is.)

Global News used tax data obtained from Statistics Canada and business location information from Red Lion Data to map payday loan locations against income and social assistance.

Interactive: Explore the map below to see how payday lending locations correlate with social assistance levels in your neighbourhood. Click a circle or coloured shape for more information; click and drag to move around.

But the heaviest users – the ones who get trapped in a cycle of high-interest debt – are the poorest borrowers.

“It’s those people closer to the edge who aren’t able to pay that payday loan off.”

So maybe they take out another payday loan to fill the gap. And then they’re stuck.

The problem, Buckland argues, is that payday lenders fill a need that traditional banks aren’t.

“Mainstream banks have, over the course of 30 years, shut down more branches in lower-income neighbourhoods,” he said.

“A big thing right now that I see the feds pushing is this financial literacy. And while on the one hand I think financial literacy is important, it certainly doesn’t solve the problem of financial exclusion.”

Maura Drew-Lytle, spokesperson for the Canadian Bankers Association, says banks have done a lot to make themselves more accessible, including offering low-cost accounts for about $4 a month. And as of January, 2015, she said, they’re offering basic, no-cost accounts for low-income seniors, people on disability assistance, students and youth.

She also notes the number of bank branches in Canada “has actually been increasing.”

“Banks have been very focused on customer service over the last decade or so. You’ve seen big changes in branches. … It’s not just a line of tellers any more.”

She and her colleagues will often accompany people when helping them open an account, she said, to help demystify the process and ensure they get what they need.

“Because we know once you walk in, you’re being sold a whole bunch of things,” she said.

“You just want a bank account: You don’t need an overdraft, you don’t need a line of credit, you don’t need a credit card. And every time, it’s the same pitch. And we say, ‘Okay, no we just need a bank account.’”

Many of the people Griffith works with are using credit cards to supplement their income, she said – not for luxuries, but just to get by. They pay the minimum payment as long as they can until the accruing interest becomes financially ruinous.

Vancouver’s VanCity established a short-term loan program for its members as an alternative to payday loans.

Photo by Daniel Paperny for Global News

Vancouver’s Vancity credit union took matters into its own hands a couple of years ago, says Linda Morris, the bank’s Senior Vice President of Business Development, Member and Community Engagement.

“We’d been seeing studies coming out of the States, but also Canada, about people who’d be underserved, or not served at all, by conventional banking,” she said.

So they did their own research – and found even some of the credit union’s own members reported using payday lenders of cheque-cashing facilities.

“That concerned us greatly, because we know the cycle of debt people can get into. … We have people come in who have three different payday lenders they owe money to.”

At the same time,” she added, “when you take a loan with a payday loan, you’re really not developing a credit history. And that’s really important also.”

Last April, VanCity launched its Fair and Fast loan program – essentially, small-scale loans, available within an hour. In July, they added a cheque-cashing component.

“We’re seeing very little delinquency. So far, people are paying back their loans. It seems to be working.

“The larger question, of course, is will we break the cycle.”

San Francisco issued a moratorium on new payday lenders and cheque-cashing locations in 2005.

Anna Mehler Paperny/Global News

San Francisco is asking itself the same question.

In 2005, the city enacted a moratorium on new cheque-cashers and payday lenders.

In many cases, Phillips said, these were “second chance” banking products – for people with poor credit histories or who’d had bad experiences with banks in the past. They also addressed barriers ranging from identification requirements to often-incapacitating overdraft fees.

But while they surpassed their initial goal of getting accounts for 10,000 people in their first year, the program has been tougher to track since then. Phillips said it “looked like” about 80 per cent of those new clients kept their accounts open, which is good.

Just as importantly, she adds, “it’s made financial management a more concrete part of the anti-poverty conversation.”

‘That endless cycle … will drive you insane’

Jillanne Mignon got out of her payday loan debt – ‘painfully.’

Anna Mehler Paperny/Global News

Among the many things on Mignon’s to-do list once she graduates from her community economic development program at Toronto’s Centennial College is work with micro-loans.

“I like the model of microloans because it opens the lending market ot people who are normally shut out,” she said. “People who normally go to these, I call them loan sharks, these payday loan places these pawn shops, to get these monies and then they get caught in these ridiculous circles of high interest rates. …

“I know that endless cycle. It will drive you insane.”

Tell us your story: Have you been trapped in a payday loan cycle?

Note: We may use what you send us in this or future stories. We definitely won’t publish your contact info.

Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press Published Thursday, December 4, 2014 3:46PM EST Last Updated Friday, December 5, 2014 11:13AM EST

TORONTO — Money Mart is defending its practice of exchanging cash for gift cards at half of their face value as a “convenient” service.

The payday loan company hired a New York public relations firm to respond after Ontario’s New Democrats called Money Mart a Grinch for launching the cash-for-gift-cards scheme.

A statement it released from the company says “Money Mart believes it is offering customers a convenient, value-added product though this service.” The payday loan company has branches across the country and says the service is available at select outlets.

The provincial Progressive Conservatives accused Money Mart of “highway robbery,” and like the NDP, demanded the Liberal government immediately stop the practice.

Consumer Minister David Orazietti says he’ll look at regulating cash-for-gift-card plans, but calls it a tough issue because people trading something they own for less than face value may not be any of the government’s business.

Money Mart said Friday that it would be up to the American public relations firm ICR to respond to questions about it makes money off the gift cards or if it sells them back to the original retailers.

The statement issued by ICR early Friday morning did not directly address Thursday’s accusations from politicians that Money Mart was preying on the most vulnerable members of society.

“Money Mart, like other retailers, is offering a service under which it purchases merchant gift cards from customers who don’t want to purchase the products offered by the gift card merchant,” said the statement.

“The service… includes gift cards from a wide variety of merchants, including hardware and sporting goods stores, fast food and apparel outlets.”

(Reuters) – Sears Holdings Corp is turning to its chief executive for cash for the second time in three weeks in a sign that its efforts to sell off assets are coming up short.

The retailer announced Thursday that it would raise up to $380 million by lowering its stake in Sears Canada to 12 percent from 51 percent through a rights offering. It said Chief Executive Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund, which together own 48.5 percent of Sears Holdings, would buy about half of the offering.

The move comes after a year-long attempt to find an outside buyer for the company’s holdings of Sears Canada. The $380 million target is about half of what the company had previously indicated its stake was worth.

The rights offering indicates that Sears may be overestimating the value of its assets, including its vast property holdings, said Brian Sozzi, head of Belus Capital Advisors and a bear on Sears stock. “There just isn’t significant demand for what they are trying to unload on the market,” he said.

The offering also highlights just how dependent Sears has become on Lampert for liquidity. Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of a $400 million loan last month from Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments. Sears said those funds would be used to get it through the cash-intensive build-up to the year-end shopping season.

The company on Thursday again cited the holiday season in how it would use cash from the rights offering. Chief Financial Officer Rob Schriesheim, in a statement, also said the offering would bring to $1.445 billion the total amount of liquidity raised this year.

Sears has been closing stores, slashing inventory and selling off assets to generate cash after a decade of falling sales and dwindling margins. It has booked losses for nine straight quarters.

Sears said it was aiming to sell 40 million shares of Sears Canada in the offering. It expects to get $168 million after Lampert and his fund exercise their rights in mid-to-late October. Fairholme Capital Management, the No. 2 Sears shareholder, has indicated that some of its clients also plan to subscribe, the company said.

Fairholme, which had decided not to participate in the loan extended last month by Lampert’s hedge fund, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The $380 million funding target assumes that other shareholders will subscribe to the offering. Sears Canada, which has been losing market share and has posted losses in nine of the last 14 quarters, said last week that its CEO would resign after just a year at the helm.

Shareholders of Sears Holdings will have the right to buy one share of Sears Canada for each share held, at a price of C$10.60 per share. Sears Canada’s shares were down 1 percent at C$11 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Sears Holdings rose 6.7 percent to $26.86 on the Nasdaq, reflecting an easing of investor worries over the company’s cash cushion going into holiday shopping season. The stock had lost nearly a quarter of its value after the announcement of the $400 million loan on Sept. 15.

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Jul 7, 2014) – North American Palladium Ltd. (“NAP” or the “Company”) (PDL.TO)(NYSE MKT:PAL) today announced that it has returned to a reduced interest rate on its senior secured term loan and its operating credit facility has been extended.

The Company has made a payment of approximately US$23.4 million to Brookfield Capital Partners Ltd. (“Brookfield”), its senior secured term loan lender, representing US$16.2 million of accrued interest and US$7.2 million of the associated pre-payment fee. Per a letter agreement with Brookfield, in consideration of the US$23.4 million payment and the capitalization of the remaining US$16.2 million of accrued and unpaid interest, the Company will revert to quarterly cash payments at a 15% interest rate with the first such cash interest payment on September 30, 2014. All other terms and conditions of the senior secured term loan remain unchanged. The outstanding balance under the senior secured term loan is approximately US$173.2 million on July 1, 2014. The senior secured term loan is secured by first priority security on the Company’s fixed assets and second priority security on accounts receivables and inventories.

Additionally, the Company has extended its US$60 million revolving operating line of credit with The Bank of Nova Scotia by an additional year on the same terms and conditions, which includes US$ based loans interest at LIBOR plus 4.5%, to July 3, 2015. The credit facility is secured by first priority security on the Company’s accounts receivables and inventories and second priority security on fixed assets.

About North American Palladium

NAP is an established precious metals producer that has been operating its Lac des Iles mine (LDI) located in Ontario, Canada since 1993. LDI is one of only two primary producers of palladium in the world, offering investors exposure to palladium. The Company’s shares trade on the NYSE MKT under the symbol PAL and on the TSX under the symbol PDL.

Under the terms of the loan agreement (see news release of March 26, 2013), Nuinsco has the right to convert the outstanding balance of the Loan into a participating interest (the “Conversion”) whereby Nuinsco is entitled to receive a share of net cash flows earned from Victory Nickel’s frac sand business. Nuinsco’s participation is capped at $7,667,124 provided Victory Nickel completes Phase 2 of its three- phase business plan, otherwise Nuinsco is entitled to a maximum of $10,222,831. Victory Nickel will recover its capital investment in the 7P Plant and working capital prior to being required to share cash flow with Nuinsco. As a result of the Conversion, the outstanding amount of the Loan is considered paid in full.

“The Loan has had a very positive impact on both companies. It has allowed Victory Nickel to enter the frac sand business and begin generating cash flow by financing construction of the 500,000 ton per year 7P Plant and the Conversion provides Nuinsco with a potential cash flow stream to fund its exploration activities while minimizing the Company’s reliance on uncertain equity markets,” said Nuinsco’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Jones. “In addition, Nuinsco’s shareholdings of Victory Nickel, which increased significantly last year when the Company backstopped Victory Nickel’s rights offering to an amount of $1,207,584 at a cost of $0.024 per unit, offer upside potential from both the success of the frac sand operation as well as from the value of the Minago Nickel project and Victory Nickel’s other properties in a rising nickel price environment.”

“Conversion of this loan is an indication of Nuinsco’s confidence in our business plan and now leaves Victory Nickel with no secured debt” said Victory Nickel’s CEO René Galipeau. “Victory Nickel and its subsidiary Victory Silica Ltd. (“Victory Silica”) have now implemented Phase 1 of a three-phased plan with the objective of producing in excess of 1,500,000 tons of premium-quality frac sand per year in Canada. Frac sand sales have begun and we are in the process of building inventory of finished frac sand at the 7P Plant where we have 22,000 tons of dry storage capacity. We are now working with our Wisconsin- based partner to implement Phase 2 which is designed to enhance margins and increase security of supply and quality control.”

About Victory Nickel

Victory Nickel Inc. is a Canadian company with four sulphide nickel deposits containing significant NI 43- 101-compliant nickel resources and a substantial frac sand resource at its Minago project. Victory Silica is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Victory Nickel and is charged with a phased plan to establish Victory Nickel in the frac sand market. In Phase 1, Victory Nickel has begun sales of premium-quality midwestern white Jordan Formation frac sand from the 7P Plant near Medicine Hat, AB by shipping partially-processed sand purchased in Wisconsin to the 7P Plant for final processing and distribution. The 7P Plant is well located in an area populated with fracking companies, its potential customers, and is within only a few hours’ trucking distance of major oil or gas play well sites. Phase 2, which includes the construction of a sand concentrator in Wisconsin, is expected to reduce costs and assure security of sand supply through the control of a frac sand mine in Wisconsin. In Phase 3, Victory Nickel has identified a site in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it plans to build a larger frac sand plant to process and distribute both imported and domestic sands, including sand mined as a co-product of development of a nickel mine at the Company’s 100%-owned Minago project in Manitoba. With margins expected to be in excess of $25 per ton of frac sand sold, Phases 1 and 2 should generate sufficient cash flow to provide the financial flexibility to expand activities by developing a second plant as Phase 3 of its growth plan.

About Frac Sand

Frac sand is a proppant used in the oil and gas business as a part of the hydraulic fracturing process – a means of increasing flow to the wellhead. Frac sand must have particular characteristics including achieving certain levels of crush resistance, sphericity and roundness, and it is therefore a relatively rare product. Vast quantities of frac sand are consumed, and more is needed all the time, as shale gas and oil plays in Canada and the US rise to prominence.

About Nuinsco Resources Limited

Nuinsco is a growth-oriented, multi-commodity mineral exploration company that is focused on world- class mineralized belts in Canada and internationally. In addition to its property holdings in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Turkey, Nuinsco owns common shares in Chalice Gold Mines (CXN.TO) and Victory Nickel Inc. (NI.TO), and a 50% interest in CBay Minerals Inc. (50% Nuinsco, 50% Ocean Partners Investments Limited), a private company that is a dominant player in Quebec’s Chibougamau mining camp with assets including a permitted mill and tailings facility, eight past- producing copper/gold mines, three potential near-term copper producers and a 96,000 acre land position. Shares of Nuinsco trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NWI.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains certain “forward-looking statements.” All statements, other than statements of historic fact, that address activities, events or developments that Nuinsco believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” and “intend” and statements that an event or result “may,” “will,” “can,” “should,” “could,” or “might” occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of Nuinsco based on information currently available to Nuinsco. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of Nuinsco to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on Nuinsco. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, failure to successfully complete financings, capital and other costs varying significantly from estimates, production rates varying from estimates, changes in world copper and/or gold markets, changes in equity markets, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, equipment failure, unexpected geological conditions, imprecision in resource estimates, success of future development initiatives, competition, operating performance of facilities, environmental and safety risks, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain tenure to properties and/or necessary permits and approvals, and other development and operating risks. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Nuinsco disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although Nuinsco believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

April 15, 2014 / TORONTO, Canada Cash Now (www.cashnow.ca) Miro-Zecevic-Andrea-Zecevic a Canadian based online payday loan company that was pioneered in 1999 has been sold. Miro-Zecevic – Andrea Zecevic – ex CEO Cash Now Company ranked # 10 out of top 100 Canadian Fastest Growing Companies by Profit magazine. Cash Now was a leader in the online payday loan concept. Today some 7 – 8 years after the end of the franchise contract the company has several dozen existing licenses still operating successful businesses.

The service of payday loans consists of small loans that one can use when temporarily out of money. Payday loans are mostly short term loans (two weeks or so) for a modest amount of money. The borrower would write a cheque for the amount being borrowed plus a fee. The cheque is left with the lender and cashed once the borrower is ready to repay the loan. Miro-Zecevic and Andrea-Zecevic developed an “e system” system that revolutionized the money lending business industry by facilitating an online process (A process that was followed by many companies thereafter). Today that system is known as Mobile banking or Check21 utilized by many banks.

Cash Now was named one of the fastest growing companies, by Entrepreneur magazine back in 2002-2003. Miro-Zecevic and Andrea Zecevic are however proud to have been a part of such a dynamic business full of potential and growth opportunities. Till this day there are still many utilizing the name Cash Now and running their payday loan business Miro-Zecevic-Andrea-Zecevic said “The payday loan business is not for everyone as it requires great discipline and scrutiny”.

At Cash Now Miro Zecevic and Andrea Zecevic were well aware that it takes discipline on both sides of the fence meaning for the borrower and the lender. Knowing our limitations is what makes the difference between those that manage great payday loans and those that simply let greed get in the way. The same goes for the borrowers there is a difference in those that are able to use the payday loans wisely without getting into the vicious cycle of over borrowing and those that have no limitation.

The key here concluded Miro Zecevic and Andrea Zecevic is that everything needs to have moderation, discipline, and limitation, this is what makes a successful payday loan operator, and borrower”.

This press release contains forward-looking statements These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the company’s current plans and expectations, as well as future results operations and financial condition. A more extensive listing of risks and factors that may affect the company’s business prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the reports and other documents filed by the company. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

It used to be that for a much-needed fast loan, you would have to walk into a local payday loan store which was open late and on the weekends. These days, you can borrow money from your phone or computer while sitting at your desk in the morning and you could have the money in your bank account by lunch hour.

“Online, it’s literally just instant cash,” says Rebecca Sudano, vice-president of BDO Canada Limited. “Obviously, it’s convenient. But what is it convenient for? What are the ramifications of convenience? Look at the convenience of drive-thru fast food. We have obesity. Look at the convenience of buy-now pay-later. You have more people in debt.

“My concern is that we’re creating a society where you can have whatever you want now and worry about the consequences later.”

Related

While the rules vary from province to province when it comes to borrowing caps, people can expect to pay up to 25% interest when borrowing money from payday loan companies — even if they repay the loan in a few days.

Zippy Cash, for example, informs you on the first page of your online application that if you live in Alberta, it will cost you $23 per $100 borrowed; so a $300 payday loan for 14 days will cost you $69 (or an annual percentage rate of 600%).

You’re asked to fill in your employer’s details as well as your banking information. Approvals are provided the same day and cash is deposited directly into your account.

“We shouldn’t be making it easier for people to borrow money at high interest rates,” says Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada, Inc. “People are now just a few clicks away from the debt zone.”

Payday loan operators provide relatively small, short-term loans or payday advances. People tend to borrow $1,500 or less for a maximum of 62 days and the money is advanced in exchange for a post-dated cheque or some other form of pre-authorized payment.

“The interest kills you,” says Lucy, who asked that her name not be disclosed.

The 51-year-old Toronto resident receives disability support payments and has gotten payday loans online and in the stores to help her endure unexpected events. She took out a $1,000 payday loan this year to cover cancer medicine and orthodontic work for her son. She had to pay back $1,200.

“After you pay them, you’ve got to reload again. When you pay them, you don’t have any money left over for yourself, to pay your rent, to pay your bills. They’re basically sucking you in.”

According to Statistics Canada, almost 3% of Canadian families said in 2005 they had obtained a payday loan in the past three years. On average, Canadians borrow about $300 for a two-week term. There are about 1,350 payday loan storefronts in Canada and the industry is worth an estimated $2-billion a year.

A chunk of payday loan borrowers tend to be young families (between 15 to 24). Some users prefer the convenience; those with poor credit ratings or a previous bankruptcy may not have the option of using less expensive means such as a credit card, lines of credit or overdraft protection, says a 2007 Statistics Canada report.

“We get caught in the spiral,” Mr. Schwartz says. “We need the loan to continue so we get another loan and we pay off the first loan. [Technology] is just making it easier to go down that road.”

Finance experts encourage individuals to create a budget, to write down their income and expenses and see where they can make cut backs for extra cash flow.

“Don’t set yourself up for failure. Create a budget, understand when your money comes in and when your money needs to go out,” he says. “Live within your means.”

EDMONTON , March 31, 2014 /CNW/ – The Cash Store Financial Services Inc. (“Cash Store Financial” or the “Company”) (CSF.TO) today announced that it has entered into an agreement in principle to settle the previously disclosed proposed class action proceedings against the Company and certain of its former directors and officers relating to alleged disclosure violations commenced by investors in Ontario , Alberta , Quebec and New York . The agreement in principle covers all claims related to investments in the Company’s common shares and senior secured notes acquired or disposed of during the expanded period of November 24, 2010 through February 14, 2014 , other than certain rights and claims of senior secured note holders under the note indenture dated January 31, 2012 .

The proposed settlement provides for a payment in the amount of approximately Cdn $9.45 million (all-inclusive) by the Company’s insurers.

The proposed settlement is subject to the fulfillment of customary conditions including, among other things, the parties entering into a definitive settlement agreement, court approvals, approval of parties other than the Company, and the fulfillment of conditions relating to the number of opt-outs from the proposed settlement. There is no assurance that these conditions will be fulfilled.

The proposed settlement includes no admission of liability by the Company or any of the settling defendants, and the Company continues to deny any such liability or damages.

About Cash Store Financial

Cash Store Financial is the only lender and broker of short-term advances and provider of other financial services in Canada that is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CSF.TO). Cash Store Financial operates 510 branches across Canada under the banners “Cash Store Financial” and “Instaloans”. Cash Store Financial also operates 27 branches in the United Kingdom .

Cash Store Financial and Instaloans primarily act as lenders and brokers to facilitate short-term advances and provide other financial services to income-earning consumers who may not be able to obtain them from traditional banks. Cash Store Financial also provides a private-label debit card (the “Freedom” card) and a prepaid credit card (the “Freedom MasterCard”) as well as other financial services, including bank accounts.

Cash Store Financial is a Canadian corporation that is not affiliated with Cottonwood Financial Ltd. or the outlets Cottonwood Financial Ltd. operates in the United States under the name “Cash Store”. Cash Store Financial does not do business under the name “Cash Store” in the United States and does not own or provide any consumer lending services in the United States .

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of United States federal securities legislation, which we refer to herein, collectively, as “forward-looking information”. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “estimates”, “plans”, “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “does not anticipate”, or “believes” or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, or “will be taken”, “occur”, or “be achieved”. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information with respect to the Settlement, the Company Releasees, the Released Claims, the settlement agreement, and the class action lawsuits commenced in Ontario and Alberta being dismissed. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Cash Store Financial, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions, legislative or regulatory developments, technological developments, third-party arrangements, competition, litigation, risks associated with but not limited to, market conditions, and other factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual MD&A, which is on file with Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities, and in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All material assumptions used in providing forward-looking information are based on management’s knowledge of current business conditions and expectations of future business conditions and trends, including our knowledge of the current credit, interest rate and liquidity conditions affecting us and the general economic conditions in Canada , the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Although we believe the assumptions used to make such statements are reasonable at this time and have attempted to identify in our continuous disclosure documents important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied by us in making forward-looking information, including without limitation, factors and assumptions regarding our continued ability to fund our payday loan business, rates of customer defaults, relationships with, and payments to, third party lenders, demand for our products, our operating cost structure, current consumer protection regulations, the Settlement, the likelihood of entering into a final settlement agreement with the Plaintiffs and the dismissal of the Alberta and Quebec class action lawsuits. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

EDMONTON , Feb. 20, 2014 /CNW/ – The Cash Store Financial Services Inc. (“Cash Store Financial” or the “Company”) (TSX: CSF; NYSE: CSFS) today announced that the special committee of its Board of Directors has selected Rothschild as its independent financial advisor to assist it in its strategic alternative review process.

As previously disclosed, the Board of Directors constituted a special committee of independent directors to (i) review and respond to recent developments in Ontario regarding the Company’s inability to sell payday loan products in Ontario and (ii) to carefully evaluate the strategic alternatives available to the Company with a view to maximizing value for all of its stakeholders.

The Board has not established a definitive timeline for the special committee of independent directors to complete its review and there can be no assurance that this process will result in any specific strategic or financial or other value-creating transaction. The Company does not currently intend to disclose further developments with respect to this process, unless and until the Board of Directors approves a specific transaction, concludes its review of the strategic alternatives or otherwise determines there is material information to communicate.

About Cash Store Financial

Cash Store Financial is the only lender and broker of short-term advances and provider of other financial services in Canada that is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CSF.TO). Cash Store Financial also trades on the New York Stock Exchange (CSFS). Cash Store Financial operates 510 branches across Canada under the banners “Cash Store Financial” and “Instaloans”. Cash Store Financial also operates 27 branches in the United Kingdom .

Cash Store Financial and Instaloans primarily act as lenders and brokers to facilitate short-term advances and provide other financial services to income-earning consumers who may not be able to obtain them from traditional banks. Cash Store Financial also provides a private-label debit card (the “Freedom” card) and a prepaid credit card (the “Freedom MasterCard”) as well as other financial services, including bank accounts.

Cash Store Financial is a Canadian corporation that is not affiliated with Cottonwood Financial Ltd. or the outlets Cottonwood Financial Ltd. operates in the United States under the name “Cash Store”. Cash Store Financial does not do business under the name “Cash Store” in the United States and does not own or provide any consumer lending services in the United States .

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of United States federal securities legislation, which we refer to herein, collectively, as “forward-looking information”. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “estimates”, “plans”, “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “does not anticipate”, or “believes” or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, or “will be taken”, “occur”, or “be achieved”. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Cash Store Financial, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions, legislative or regulatory developments, technological developments, third-party arrangements, competition, litigation, risks associated with but not limited to, market conditions, and other factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual MD&A, which is on file with Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities, and in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.